


The Names of the Stars

by prettyvk



Series: Ink Your Name 'verse [8]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 22:11:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3706039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyvk/pseuds/prettyvk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prelude to Jam & Honey</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Names of the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> For eowynsdeerstalker on tumblr

“When I was a child, I wanted to be a pirate.”

The words barely rose above a whisper, so John squeezed Sherlock’s hand to show he’d heard. He didn’t say he knew this; this was a nice, quiet moment, and he didn’t want to interrupt it with a mention of Mycroft.

Above them, the sky had never seemed more full of stars. A case had taken them to the countryside, far from London’s lights, and Sherlock had dragged John out of their Bed and Breakfast room in the middle of the night to lay down on the grass together. John knew he’d regret it in the morning – he wasn’t that young anymore that his body didn’t protest lying on hard surfaces – but for now, it was lovely.

“I memorized all the constellations,” Sherlock continued, just as quietly. “So I could navigate by following star charts.”

“Did you?” John couldn’t hide his mild surprise. Was this the same man who used to know nothing about the solar system? “Show me your favorite.”

“I can’t. I deleted it all. In the beginning Mycroft played pirates with me, but when he grew older he called it nonsense, and said all those constellations took useless room in my mind, and I deleted all of it. Everything I knew about stars and space. And yes, the solar system.”

That explained a lot, but it made John strangely sad for the little boy who’d locked up his dreams of piracy and thrown away the key.

“I’ll never learn the names of the stars again,” Sherlock said, sounding a little wistful. “And I can’t learn about new forensics techniques either.”

The change of topics was abrupt enough that John frowned and turned his head toward him. He could just see the outline of his profile, and a glint of light on his glasses.

“Is it about today?” he asked cautiously. “You solved it in the end, didn’t you?”

Sherlock made an annoyed little noise. 

“Four days, John. If I’d had the relevant information, I could have solved it in one, and without having to leave London.”

“Then that’s four days we wouldn’t have had together,” John said softly. “And this. This moment, right now. We wouldn’t have had that.”

“I won’t even—”

Sherlock cut himself short, but John could guess what he’d been about to say. He wouldn’t remember this moment, the quiet and beauty, their hands entwined on the grass between them. But John would. He would remember this, and he might write about it in their diary – one more proof to show Sherlock, whenever he doubted, that no, John hadn’t wasted his life with him, far from it.

“Maybe I should retire,” Sherlock said after a long moment. “I can’t run after criminals anymore, I miss too much even with my glasses, and I lack recent knowledge that can prove essential. I think I’d rather not be a detective anymore than be an average one.”

He’d hinted at it before, so John wasn’t all that surprised. He even knew exactly how to reply, had known for decades.

“Well, if pirate and detective are off the table, how about beekeeper?”

Sherlock’s delight, as John explained the arrangements Mycroft had made so long ago, left no doubt that this was the right path. They’d need to find a new routine, new patterns, but after all this time, John knew it’d work out. As long as they were together, it would all be fine.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] The Names of the Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3720154) by [bagofthumbs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bagofthumbs/pseuds/bagofthumbs)




End file.
